Keep Your Friends Close is an excellent thriller! Mary and Willa had me guessing every step of the way. I do think the author hates men- there was not one good guy in the book! But Mary and Willa were strong women doing the best they could with the situations they found themselves in. This is a story that kept me up past my bedtime for a few nights!

I was fortunate enough to win an e-ARC of KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE by Leah Konen from a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy spring!

I seem to be out of the norm with this book. I found the book very slow moving and uneventful. It felt like it took me months to read this book because it was such a slow paced book. I had no interest in the characters what so ever. I think this is an author that isn't for me.

One-word review: wild
Emojis: 🥴🫣🤫
Rating: 4 🌟s

My thoughts:
Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen kept me on the edge of my seat for a fast-paced, thrilling ride to figure out who killed Mary’s estranged husband. That said, I’m sitting here wondering how much more I can really say about it without giving anything away. But that in itself is something to remark on - everything in this story is essential - every relationship, every detail - it all means something.

It sounds like the perfect thriller - right? But why did I rate it four stars? My only disappointment was that there were no shocking twists or turns for me. Of course, there were twists and turns, but I felt like I saw each one coming before they were revealed. This didn’t impact my reading - it just left me with a “huh” feeling once it was over.

But don’t let that dissuade you because this is a wonderful thrill ride from beginning to end. The pacing was perfect, the characters developed just enough, and the relationships were delightfully complex. The relationships are really the story's focus, and they are stunning.

Keep your friends close is a thriller about two friends. When Mary goes through a separation from her uber rich husband, she feels alone. She meets Willa at a park and they instantly connect. They hang out all the time and one day Willa just ghosts Mary. When Mary sees Willa randomly with different hair, she tries to confront her and Willa pretends she doesn't know Mary. Mary tries to figure out the truth in this twisty, fast paced thriller.

I enjoyed this thriller! It was very fast paced and I could not put it down. I liked how we got different POVs and different timelines as everything unfolded. There were a lot of secrets in this book and while they were not too surprising, they were still fun to discover. I do feel like this book was a bit predictable at times but it was still a fun read. The twists just kept coming and it kept the story very interesting. I enjoy reading about female friendships and this one got twisted, so even better!

I feel like some of the reactions and the things that happened were not all that realistic. I feel like some people acted in a way that didn't seem real. That was my biggest complaint about this book. However, if you just suspend disbelief, you will have a good time reading this book.

I don't necessarily think this book was amazing but it was a solid thriller I would widely recommend! I had a good time reading it. Thanks so much to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book held my attention and kept me wondering. Mary was a sweet person who questioned herself and her decisions at every turn but was trying to do what she thought was best for her and her toddler son. I felt like the characters were interesting and each of them were mysterious enough to keep you wondering if they were telling the truth. It was a good, keep you guessing book!

A great thriller that will leaving you questioning everyone around you. Are your friends really who you think they are? Your wife or husband? Mary is the type of character you are instantly drawn to and want to root for 100%. This book has great pacing and really picks up speed about half way through. A suspenseful thriller with se real twists and turns to knock you off your game.

While I wasn't particularly wowed by this book, it did keep me engaged. I found I like the character of Willa better than Mary. Mary seemed a bit weak to me. The story was told in the POV of Mary and Willa, which was well done, but the story itself dragged for me in parts, although it did have several twists that made it interesting. The twist at the end, though, was a surprise. Overall, this was just an okay domestic thriller for me.

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

This was certainly a bingeable book! With its dual POVs and past/present timelines, it absolutely kept me engaged and curious to see what was going to happen. It was a unique storyline that I didn’t feel was super predictable so it was fun that I was constantly guessing. Both Willa and Mary were written well, but I didn’t necessarily feel a deep connection to either of them. They were certainly relatable though! The ending wasn’t anything shocking or particularly thrilling, but it was certainly interesting. The thing I liked most about it was its commentary on the mental, emotional and physical load women take on in their families as opposed to men. Overall, it was a pretty middle of the road domestic suspense for me, but it had its moments of fun!
CW: domestic violence, murder

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Isolated and embroiled in a custody battle, Mary is desperate for a friend. So when she meets the charming and enigmatic Willa at a Brooklyn playground, their connection feels fated. But during a margarita-fueled moms’ night out, Mary shares her darkest secret about her ex, George, and the next morning Willa simply disappears. No calls, no texts, nothing. Two months later, Mary’s divorce is almost finalized, and she’s trying to build a new life for her son in upstate New York. On her first day in town, she runs into Willa . . . only Willa’s name is now Annie, and she’s got an entirely new family in tow. When George turns up dead and Mary becomes the prime suspect, she has no choice but to turn to her only friend in town: Willa.
As coincidences—and evidence—pile up, Mary begins to wonder whether Willa had something to do with George’s death. Is the woman a friend or a foe, a confidante or just a con? Mary must uncover the truth before she loses everything.
Not for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for giving me an advance copy.

Gripping and twisty with short chapters and cliffhanger’s delving into friendship, betrayal.. and yes🙋🏼‍♀️ MORALLY flawed characters (my favorite to read!).. along with a murder mystery to solve. Not to mention there’s a con-artist, a bitter ex, an ugly divorce and a custody battle. It’s drama filled, the tension is high. And that ending 🤯.. WHAT A SHOCK! Great storytelling, a fast paced domestic thriller I found highly entertaining!👏🏻🍿4.5 stars — Pub. 2/20/24

Thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and G.P. Putnam's Sons for inviting me to receive an early copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What a fantastic thriller! I loved that this one went back and forth between the present story and the characters past history. The liked the double POV between Willa and Mary and how each character was so different yet is blended the story so well together. I couldn’t stop reading this one and was dying to know where the story was going and I have to say it was totally unexpected in the best possible way! I was so intrigued with these characters back stories as well and how it was affecting their present lives.

This is a very suspenseful thriller type of book where you know something is up with the friend (thanks to the title!) but you're just not really sure what.

I thought it was well-written and kept me wanting to finish it to find out what was up. A mother decides she has to leave her very well-to-do husband and meets a woman at a playground where the kids begin to play together and they become very close very quickly. The the friend absolutely disappears - just ghosts the other mother. Why?

I thought the author did a great job at keeping the suspense level high while still keeping it "real."

Thank you to NetGalley, Leah Konen and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

Ooh this was good! Maybe a little predictable, but twisty enough to keep me guessing. Konen has an immersive writing style- the more I read, the more I wanted to read. The flawed morally grey characters made the story so fun.

This is my second book by Konen and while I enjoyed the first one, this was even better. I can’t wait to read more by her!

4 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy. All opinions are my own.

Keep Your Friends Close comes out 02/20/24. If you enjoy domestic thrillers with friendships, betrayal, and a murder mystery aspect, definitely check this one out.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a good read. I enjoyed the story. But, I just did not like the main character, Mary. She leaves her husband, which was the right choice. However, then she caves and is about to take him back. I just found the passiveness of the character to be unbelievable.

The plot was intriguing and the story kept me engaged. Mary leaves her husband, George, who comes from a rich and powerful family. She is sharing custody with him but he keeps threatening to take full custody of their son. She doesn't have the means to fight his lawyers so she feels like she is at a loss. Then, she meets Willa. They become fast friends. Willa seems to have a great life going and promises Mary that she will do anything for her friend. So, when Mary's husband winds up dead and Mary is the top suspect, is she guilty, or does Willa really just keep her promises?

This book was great! A fast paced mystery I couldn’t wait to finish! This story is about Mary, who is going through a divorce and her soon to be ex is not happy. Mary meets a new friend Willa at the park while with her toddler son. Willa has a crazy past and things are not what they seem. This story has so many twists, turns, surprises and characters with interesting personalities! The author does a great job of pulling in the reader and making you feel like you know all the characters in this mystery. Someone ends up dead, and the ending will be a shocker!
Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam for the eArc for my honest review!

I am a big fan of the author's previous works! Leah excels in the niche of mommy drama and her books are easy to read and relatable. However, this one fell flat for me. There were some twists, but it was fairly predictable. This is a slow burn, but so much that it was tough to keep my attention. This felt about 75 pages too long. A few things that happened felt just too convenient for the story like the author forced them to make them work. 

I did really like that the faux friendship between Mary and Willa was the crux to the story and if their decisions were made in support of or against the other.

The story is told in dual timelines and multiple POVs. I loved having Willa's chapters weaved into it as well.

Recommend if you enjoy
Domestic thrillers
Rich people drama
Friends or frenemies
Mommy drama stories

This was okay, and was fast paced enough to keep my interest, but didn’t wow me. I kept on waiting for more twists, and while there were some, some were fairly predictable.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I was not expecting the plot twist at the end. By the time the major twist came I had thought everything was figured out.

This was definitely a slow burner of a book but I didn't find it boring at all. It moved very smoothly and kept my attention. I went through the book basically not trusting anything Willa said and wanted to know the truth at all times.

I would definitely give other books by this author a chance.

4.5 stars

I enjoyed this book—it was a little longer than I thought it had to be but overall a good book—I would recommend this to my friends